Definitions and Terms

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Acid foods - Foods which contain enough acid to result in a pH of 4.6 or lower. Includes all fruits except figs; most tomatoes;
fermented and pickled vegetables; relishes; and jams, jellies, and marmalades.
Acid foods may be processed in boiling water.

Altitude - The
vertical elevation of a location above sea level.

Ascorbic acid - The chemical name for vitamin C. Lemon
juice contains large quantities of ascorbic acid and is commonly used to prevent
browning of peeled, light-colored fruits and vegetables. Also known as
citric acid. "Fruit Fresh" is the brand name of a commonly available (most
grocery stores) form of ascorbic / citric acid.

Bacteria - A
large group of one-celled microorganisms widely distributed in nature. See microorganism.

Blanching - fruits and vegetables contain chemical compounds called
enzymes that cause the loss of color, loss of nutrients, and flavor changes when
they are frozen or canned. These enzymes must be inactivated to prevent such
reactions from taking place. Enzymes are inactivated by the blanching process.
Blanching is the exposure of the vegetables to boiling water or steam for a
brief period of time (usually 2 to 5 minutes, but it varies by the vegetable or
fruit and it's size). The vegetables must then be drained of the hot water and
rapidly cooled in ice water to prevent cooking. Blanching is absolutely
essential for producing top quality frozen vegetables. Blanching also helps to
destroy microorganisms on the surface of the vegetable. The water bath or
pressure canning process accomplishes this when canning, so a blanching step is
only needed for frozen foods, not canned foods.

Blancher - A 6-
to 8-quart lidded pot designed with a fitted perforated basket to hold food in boiling water, or with a fitted rack to steam
foods. Useful for loosening skins on fruits to be peeled, or for heating
foods to be hot packed.

Canning salt - Also called pickling salt. It is regular table salt without the
anticaking or iodine additives.

Citric acid - A
form of acid that can be added to canned foods. It increases the acidity of low-acid foods and may improve the flavor and color.

Cold pack - Canning procedure in which jars are filled with raw food. "Raw pack" is the preferred term for describing this practice. "Cold
pack" is often used incorrectly to refer to foods that are open-kettle
canned or jars that are heat-processed in boiling water. 1-28

Exhausting - Removal of air from within and around food and from jars and canners. Blanching exhausts air from live food tissues.
Exhausting or venting of pressure canners is necessary to prevent a risk of
botulism in low-acid canned foods.

Fermentation - Changes in food caused by intentional growth of bacteria, yeast, or mold. Native bacteria ferment natural sugars to
lactic acid, a major flavoring and preservative in sauerkraut and in
naturally fermented dills. Alcohol, vinegar, and some dairy
products are also fermented foods.

Lids, Rings and jars -
see this page for a description and questions about the most common (in the
U.S.) safe system for home canning, the "Ball", "Kerr" or "Mason" jar.

Low-acid foods- Foods which contain very little acid and
have a pH above 4.6. The acidity in these foods is insufficient to prevent the growth of
the bacterium Clostridium botulinum. Vegetables, some tomatoes, figs,
all meats, fish, seafoods, and some dairy foods are low acid. To control
all risks of botulism, jars of these foods must be 1. heat processed
in a pressure canner, or 2. acidified to a pH of 4.6 or lower before
processing in boiling water.

Microorganisms - Independent organisms of microscopic
size, including bacteria, yeast, and mold. When alive in a suitable environment, they
grow rapidly and may divide or reproduce every 10 to 30 minutes.
Therefore, they reach high populations very quickly. Undesirable
microorganisms cause disease and food spoilage. Microorganisms are sometimes
intentionally added to ferment foods, make antibiotics, and for other
reasons.

Mold - A
fungus-type microorganism whose growth on food is usually visible and colorful. Molds may grow on many foods, including acid
foods like jams and jellies and canned fruits. Recommended heat
processing and sealing practices prevent their growth on these foods. 1-29

Mycotoxins - Toxins produced by the growth of some molds on foods.

Open-kettle canning - A non-recommended canning method. Food is supposedly
adequately heat processed in a covered kettle, and then filled hot
and sealed in sterile jars. Foods canned this way have low vacuums or
too much air, which permits rapid loss of quality in foods. Moreover,
these foods often spoil because they become recontaminated while the jars
are being filled.

Pasteurization - Heating of a specific food enough to
destroy the most heat-resistant pathogenic or disease-causing microorganism known to be
associated with that food.

pH - A measure
of acidity or alkalinity. Values range from 0 to 14. A food is neutral when its pH is 7.0: lower values are
increasingly more acid; higher values are increasingly more alkaline.

Pickling - The
practice of adding enough vinegar or lemon juice to a low-acid food to lower its pH to 4.6 or lower. Properly pickled foods
may be safely heat processed in boiling water.

Sealing - see this
page for instructions about how to determine if the jars have sealed properly.

Spoilage - the growth of undesirable bacteria, molds and other
pathogens that can cause illness, injury or degrade the taste or other qualities
of foods. See this page for
detecting spoilage.

Style of pack - Form of canned food, such as whole,
sliced, piece, juice, or sauce. The term may also be used to reveal whether food is filled
raw or hot into jars.

Vacuum - The
state of negative pressure. Reflects how thoroughly air is removed from within a jar of processed food; the higher the
vacuum, the less air left in the jar.
The presence of a vacuum, by itself, does not indicate that the jars are sterile
or safe. Some people simply invert jars that are filled with hot product and
sealed. That will form a vacuum and seal the lid, but the contents are not
sterile, nor considered safe. They require water bath or pressure canner
processing after the lids are put on!

Yeasts - A
group of microorganisms which reproduce by budding. They are used in fermenting some foods and in leavening breads.

Home Canning Kits

This is the same type of standard canner that my grandmother used to
make everything from applesauce to jams and jellies to tomato and
spaghetti sauce. This complete kit includes everything you need and
lasts for years: the canner, jar rack, jar grabber tongs, lid lifting
wand, a plastic funnel, labels, bubble freer, and the bible of canning,
the Ball Blue Book. It's much cheaper than buying the items separately.
You'll never need anything else except jars & lids! To see
more canners, of different styles, makes and prices, click here!For
more information and current pricing:

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Lids, Rings, Jars, mixes, pectin, etc.

Need lids, rings and replacement jars? Or pectin to make jam,
spaghetti sauce or salsa mix or pickle mixes? Get them all here, and
usually at lower prices than your local store!